Crime scene evidence collection

This essay Crime scene evidence collection has a total of 3038 words and 12 pages.
In this report I will discuss the importance of collecting evidence at a crime scene. The evidence can make or break a case. There are specific duties assigned to each member of the CSI team who investigates a crime scene. Strict protocols are followed when securing the crime scene, collection evidence and interviewing witnesses. There are 5 main steps in processing a crime scene; interview, examine, photograph, sketch, and process. The gathering of evidence falls within the guidelines of processing the crime scene. The CSI personal has to have a keen eye to assess what is normal in the scene and what is evidence. Whenever there is a question as to what may be evidence, it is best to collect it and sort it out at the lab. Many people have a stake in what the CSI gather as evidence at a crime scene. Some evidence will clear persons involved, while others could be prosecuted by the same evidence. It is very important to take this training and job seriously. The balance of justice can be swayed so easily by the collection, processing and interpretation of evidence. Then there are cases that go to trial, get convictions with no evidence at all. Not because there was evidence and it not collected but because there was no evidence to prove a crime had been committed and the case was judged purely on made up stories with no facts to back them up. Later we find there in fact was no crime committed.
Collecting Crime Scene Evidence
Crime Scene Investigators are becoming more and more important to large law enforcement agencies. The purpose of crime scene investigation is to help establish what happened and who is responsible for the crime. This task was left to the local law enforcement officers who were and still are the ones to get to a crime scene first. As crime has grown in this country, the need for a special investigative team has become a necessity. The police departments in most large cities are not staffed nor equipped to do the amount of work required to thoroughly investigate a crime scene. One crime scene may take up to days or weeks to go through every inch of it to gather and tag evidence to be processed by the crime lab. Keeping this in mind, the smaller cities, towns and communities still rely on the local law enforcement agencies to carry out the task of securing the crime scene, gather evidence and question witnesses. Detectives assigned to the case in the smaller populated areas can help the police department to do in-depth questioning of witnesses, following up on leads and other things that may need to be done in assisting the police with the crime. (Aggrawal, 2004) (Layton, 2005)
The first step when getting to the crime scene is making sure the scene has been taped off and clearly marked. Next the crime scene technician will talk to the first officer who arrived at the crime scene. At this time the tech will gather information as to how this incident occurred, about what time it happened and all other basic information. The tech may also question any witnesses, or victim. If the CSI team has 2-4 people there may be several things going on at one
time such as examining the area of the crime, numbering or tagging pieces of evidence where it is for photographing, sketches may be started by the person assigned to that duty and then the process of gathering the evidence may begin after the first four steps are completed. It is important that all evidence that can be found at that time be processed by tagging, sketch, and photographing before it is actually collected into proper containers. (Baldwin, 1990)
The second step is to examine the crime scene inside and out. It is important to determine how the crime occurred and document it accordingly. Number markers will be placed by each piece of evidence for photographing. This is true of all evidence at the scene. It is very important for the CSI to be able to tell what was normally placed in the house/building and what seems out of place. When there is a question as to what may be or not be evidence, it is collected anyway and the lab will process it to see if it is connected to the crime. (Baldwin, 1990)
Next

Read essay without registering

Donate an essay now and get the full essay emailed you. Upload File
Acceptable files: .txt, .doc, .docx, .rtfEmail Address

Essays Related to Crime scene evidence collection

JFK Assination - ConspiracyJFK Assination - Conspiracy Hafsah Masood What reasons did the HSCA in suggesting that John F Kennedy was the victim of a conspiracy? In 1976, the US Senate ordered a fresh inquiry into the assassination of John F Kennedy, who was murdered in 1963 during a motorcade in Dallas, Texas. People who had been involved in the original Warren Commission investigations were asked to make fresh statements. The FBI and the CIA were persuaded to release more of their documents on Oswald. New lines of inquir

Why Did The HSCA Decide Kennedy Died As Result Of Conspiracy?Why did the HSCA decide Kennedy died as result of conspiracy? Ruaridh Phillips In 1976, the US Senate ordered a fresh inquiry into the assassination of John F Kennedy, who was murdered in 1963 during a motorcade in Dallas, Texas. People who had been involved in the original Warren Commission investigations were asked to make fresh statements. The FBI and the CIA were persuaded to release more of their documents on Oswald. New lines of inquiry were opened and individuals who had not previously gi

Self-defense In Criminal Cases.Self-defense in criminal cases. [email protected] One of the frustrations faced by many businesses is that after the perpetrators of crimes have been identified, the District Attorney's office will not pursue the case. One option is for victims to sue the DA in an attempt to compel him to prosecute, but this would be costly and proving dereliction of duty would be difficult. The DA is effectively immune. Other options are more promising. The law should encourage (and prosecutors' offices s

Questioned Document ExaminerQuestioned Document Examiners usually work for law enforcement or have private offices from which they are contracted by different people or businesses. They have many duties, especially those working in law enforcement. There several areas of specialization in this field and many different requirements to do this type of job. Not all requirements are the same field, nor do they all involve education. Many times, requirements involve experience, knowledge, and skills. The duties of a questioned

The Demon In The Freezer The Demon In The Freezer Christopher Coble C. E. King High School Abstract The first major bioterror event in the United States, the anthrax attacks in October 2001 was a clarion call for scientists who work with hot agents to find ways of protecting civilian populations against biological weapons. In The Demon in the Freezer, Richard Preston?s first nonfiction book since The Hot Zone, a #1 New York Times bestseller, Preston takes the reader into the heart of Usamriid, the United States Army

History of Postconviction Exonerations History on Post-Conviction DNA Exonerations Post-conviction relief is a general term related to appeals of criminal convictions, which may include release, new trial, modification of sentence, and such other relief as may be proper and just. The court may also make supplementary orders to the relief granted, concerning such matters as re-arraignment, retrial, custody and release on security. The term may refer to a law or court rule that allows a collateral challenge to a judgment of conviction

Crime scene evidence collectionIn this report I will discuss the importance of collecting evidence at a crime scene. The evidence can make or break a case. There are specific duties assigned to each member of the CSI team who investigates a crime scene. Strict protocols are followed when securing the crime scene, collection evidence and interviewing witnesses. There are 5 main steps in processing a crime scene; interview, examine, photograph, sketch, and process. The gathering of evidence falls within the guidelines of proces

KKKKKKAfter talking to an advisor named Mr. Martin in Bowles Hall I found that there are several career paths I can follow as a biologist, including these: Research: Research biologists study the natural world, using the latest scientific tools and techniques in both laboratory settings and the outdoors, to understand how living systems work. Many work in exotic locations around the world, and what they discover increases our understanding of biology and may be put to practical use to find solutions t

Case Research Paper Case Research Paper In 2009, Maryland police arrested Alonzo Jay King Jr for a first and second-degree assault arrested Alonzo Jay King Jr. Now Maryland has an act called the “Maryland’s DNA Collection Act”, and for that, the police went along and took a DNA swab of him. Doing so, his DNA was added into the database and it unexpectedly had matched a DNA sample that was taken as evidence in a 2003 rape case that was never resolved. Now since Kings’ DNA had matched the DNA sample of the rape vict

How did chromatography help the case?How did chromatography help the case? Chromatography was an essential part of the experiment as it has a scientific and a reliable source of evidence to give to the jury. The processes ability to detect similar correlation between inks gave the case a strong backbone to work with and a clearer more precise view. In this situation, where there were various pens involves and only one pen which was guilty chromatograph was able to select patterns that were similar and connected within the case. Her

The Ransom NoteAfope Ogunremi & Oreofe Abe 9c 3/11/15 Chromatography and crime Case: The Ransom Note At Wymondley JMI School, teacher, Miss Mackie received a threatening note one day. Her students were all at lunch at the time the letter was received so she assumed it must have been another teacher at the school. The note was written in black ink so they checked all the desks and concluded that all the teachers had black pens. The pens looked different but the ink looked the same so chromatography was used to